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Purchasing and holding US stocks/ ETFs/ mutual funds through US brokerage account vs Singapore brokerage account

E
Apr 14, 2026 · 00:06

Hello,

I'm debating whether to invest my money into US stocks and mutual funds through a Singapore vs US brokerage account. I came to the US for college 5 years ago and now work in California. I have a SSN and can easily open a brokerage account here, however, the US has strict capitals gains taxes and withholdings for dividends. My parents live/ work in Singapore under PEP (personalized employment pass) and have lived there for over 15 years so they have brokerage accounts in Singapore (with Tiger I believe). I used to be on a dependent pass under them but have no status in Singapore now. I have recently started full-time work in the US and am looking to invest $5-10k USD yearly instead of opening an IRA account here (not sure whether I will live in the US in the future and while my home country has a tax-treaty with the US, it doesn't recognize tax-free nature of Roth and I may need the money earlier to fund a home purchase, future education etc).

After some discussions with my family and days of going through US tax law, I am debating whether it is worth it to open a brokerage account here or simply wire the amount to my parents so they can invest it on my behalf given that Singapore has no capital gains tax. Given that I am in a unique situation, I can't find a clear answer online whether it is better to open and hold my own brokerage account here (which will result in taxes whenever I withdraw that amount for whatever reason) or to have my parents invest it for me. The big issue I see with letting my parents invest it for me is that since they are not Singapore PR/ citizen, when they retire (5-10 years from now), they will most likely return back to our home country at which point I am not sure whether they can continue holding/ contributing to the Singapore brokerage account.

I am very new to brokerages so please let me know if I am missing something in regards to ease of liquidity for these accounts/ transaction costs/ non-availability of certain securities that I would otherwise be able to purchase with a US brokerage account.

Any advise would be helpful, thanks in advance!